Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings April 2014, Volume 27, Number 2 | Page 75

In memoriam
GEORGE KENNEDY (“KEN”) HEMPEL JR., MD
Department of Surgery, Baylor University Medical Center
at Dallas
Dr. Ken Hempel, a prominent surgeon at Baylor University
Medical Center (BUMC), died on December 26, 2013. Proceedings published an interview with him in 2007 (20:369–380),
and the text below was taken from the introduction to that
interview by Dr. William C. Roberts.
Ken Hempel lived virtually his entire life in Dallas, Texas.
He was born on October 25, 1934. He graduated from public
schools, including Highland Park High School, where he was
a star athlete. He married Ruth Barrett, his sweetheart from
the eighth grade, as a senior in high school. Ken attended
Southern Methodist University and after 3 years there entered
the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical School,
where he obtained his medical degree in 1959. He did a rotating internship at BUMC and then entered the general surgery
program of Parkland Hospital after a brief stint in Iowa City.
After completing his residency in 1965, he spent 1 year in
Houston at Methodist Hospital doing a cardiovascular fellowship under Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and his colleagues.
In 1966, he entered the US Army Medical Corps, where he
remained for 2 years before returning to Dallas and beginning
a private practice of both vascular and general surgery. Within
a few years, he became a major player at BUMC, where he
practiced for over 40 years. He and Ruth were the proud
parents of three children.
GEORGE J. RACE, MD, PHD
Department of Pathology, Baylor University Medical Center
at Dallas
Dr. George Race, the founding editor of BUMC Proceedings, who also served as chief of pathology, dean of continuing
education, and chairman of the Baylor Research Foundation,
died on December 17, 2013. He was interviewed in Proceedings (2001;14:264–285), and the introduction to his interview
by Dr. Roberts appears below. Tributes to Dr. Race appear on
p. 150 of this issue.
George Race was born in Everm